Singularity (Playstation 3)

I haven't reviewed a game in a while, but Singularity really made me feel like I had to. Especially considering there are only two other reviews here as I write.

First, the most important thing. Singularity gets the basics absolutely right. Character movement is fluid, the controls are easy to learn, and there are no lurching mini-loads.

The environments and graphics are top-notch. From the moment you "arrive" on the island, you know it's going to look good, and it does throughout.

Gameplay is also great fun. I've heard a lot of comparisons to Bioshock, which I didn't play but watched my roommate play. I suppose there are similarities, but Singularity offers it's own take on survivor horror FPS.

The storyline is excellent. Playing with time often causes a muddled story, but here we have a great altered past/present that must be fixed, and the history of the island's downfall is well detailed in notes and recordings you find. Get all of them. Also, the climax is a big moment for your character.

Your time-altering abilities are great fun to use. Power them up as soon as you can, especially the one that creates a sphere of frozen time. This is extremely useful in taking out multiple enemies. It's fun to age a soldier to dust, turn "tics" against each other, and age/renew countless items. See a crushed, rusted crate? Renew it and inside could be E-99 (your upgrade juice), med packs and ammo. Sometimes this is imperative to continue, sometimes you just find more juice under a big branch you just "de-aged."

Happily, Singularity lacks any glaring flaws. If you find something you don't like, it's often down to personal preference. Health, for example, is (yes!) a good old-fashioned bar. You have to use health packs to regenerate. The encroaching red haze, once a good thing but abused to the point of annoying overkill in some games (the latest COD) stays away until you're nearly dead.

It's not quite as OMG-THIS-IS-AWESOME as the first time through Dead Space, an astoundingly good game, but has it's share of pleasant surprises. For example, I shot a soldier in the leg with my shotgun, which blew it off below the knee. He hopped a few times, clutching his thigh and yelling, then fell and squirmed in agony until I finished him off. That's a nice touch in enemy construction.

I apologize if this sounds too positive. There's always a risk of coming off as fake or easily impressed. But sitting here I can't really think of anything they did "wrong." It's a fully developed, greatly conceived and polished horror FPS.

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I have already beaten the single player campaign and will go back and play it again to look for items I missed the first time through. The game is shorter than I would have liked. The story is excellent. If you are into history this game is a treat. It tells a story of what could have happened if the U.S.S.R. actually conducted research and experiments in this fashion. Yes, it is completely fictitious but executed well. Linear gameplay ensures you don't get lost much, but look around and move about (the game will let you). Many reviewers claim that it is too linear. Have they tried to walk around and figure out the puzzles? This game actually makes you think, which is lacking in some of the major hit games like Red Dead Redemption (which was horrid). This is a quality game and does not need to "jazz" it up with a bunch of fancy explosions, tons of cursing, and crap game play. Give this game a shot I think you will be happy with it.

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Singularity is a pretty fun game along the lines of Bioshock where it's a bit of FPS combat mixed with a lot of exploration and really simple puzzles. It's very linear and you can beat the whole thing in about 10 or so hours, so it's not a great investment. There is a multiplayer component, but last time I tried I got a connection error. Nice! I see the price dropping pretty soon.

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